Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I’m Josh and I’m a musician from Coventry. I’ve always been interested and involved in music, throughout school I would always play in school bands and then I started training as a sound engineer when I was 17 at a local venue. Since then I’ve played in bands, been on tours, and more recently, started a solo project.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: I have a mixture of training. I first had piano lessons from the age of 8, but I wasn’t too interested in the classical side of things. That’s when I moved to drum lessons when I was 11. I then wanted to be able to write songs and got a guitar one Christmas which I self taught how to play, and I’ve never had any guitar lessons. Once I decided that I wanted to try a solo project, I then took some vocal lessons.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: My first musical influence was a band called The Script. I remember going to see them live in Birmingham and seeing over 10,000 people singing their songs back to them was incredible and something I’d always want. More recently, my influences are heading down a more pop punk route with the likes of 5 Seconds of Summer, Simple Plan and Fall Out Boy.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Over and Over’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Yes, Over and Over is about wanting to tell someone you’ve know for ages how you feel and see if you can turn things into a relationship rather than just friends. When you try and tell them how you feel, you can’t find the right words to say and then the moment passes and you never get to say what you want to. After the moment, various scenarios play in your head on what the outcome could have been, but by then it’s too late.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: I don’t have any plans to release an EP or album. I have plans to release more music throughout this year, I’m currently recording 2 new tracks, but they’ll both be released over the next few months as singles. The reason I’ve decided to do this is so I can release music more regularly and enjoy the process of growing my fan base.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: My sound is moving towards the pop punk style, and I think my lyrics and the story is something that listeners should pay close attention to.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: I started this just as a bit of fun, I never really expected to be hitting over 100k streams, playing festivals or hearing my music on BBC Introducing. So it’s been very fulfilling and something that I’m looking forward to see how far I can take it.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: The initial creative process happens in my bedroom, I write songs either on a piano, acoustic guitar or electric guitar. I’ll create a stripped back demo and then send it over to my producer. I usually send 3 or 4 half finished songs and he picks ones that have the most potential for me to finish off and record a demo. Then we work on producing it, recording all of the instruments and then mixing and mastering before it’s ready to release.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: The most difficult thing with my music career is trying to stay consistent, it’s so easy just to release a song and forget about it, but I’m still trying to get into the habit of posting more content to enhance each song.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: The most successful part for me is the response I receive from each song, it’s great to see BBC Introducing playing every track, and it’s also amazing to see the streaming numbers grow with each release.
